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When I was photographing in Twentynine Palms some years ago, I was fortunate to visit Marine Corp Base Camp Pendleton and meet Sgt Nick Popaditch. Nick is a hero in the truest sense—he always put others in his unit first and was injured in the line of duty during the First Battle of Fallujah in 2004 when an RPG hit the tank he was navigating. Nick sustained terrible injuries and lost an eye—when I met him, he was wearing a glass one with the Marine insignia etched into it. Nick was awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star. I got to meet his wife April and his son Nicholas, who looked up to him so much. When I took this photograph, Nick was planning to become a teacher. We thank Nick and all veterans, always, for their service.